At an event held during the launch of the findings, held Friday, experts discussed the export potential of fresh vegetables to India and other countries and the barriers to trade.
“There isn’t proper coordination and harmonization of standards between the Nepali and Indian SPS and technical standards. Lack of integrated laboratories for quality certifications and the absence of mutual recognition of accreditation between Nepal and India have left the fate of Nepal’s fresh produce exports at the mercy of Indian customs offices,” former Commerce Secretary and a Senior Consultant at SAWTEE, Purushottam Ojha, said.
According to Ojha, though vegetable production in Nepal is increasing, the country is lagging behind in vegetable exports, as Nepali products fail to meet the quality standards set by importing countries in terms of use of chemical fertilizers, among other issues. “Thus, if we are to export vegetables to India, Bangladesh and other Middle East countries, we should produce vegetables meeting their standards,” he said during the workshop organised by SAWTEE.
He further added that non-tariff measures which discourage trade through the customs points have given rise to a high incidence of informal trade. The research found that a huge amount of fresh vegetables were transported informally through the custom points.
Ojha also insisted on the importance of having proper measures related to Pest Risk Analysis (PRA) to make Nepali vegetables suitable for export not only to India but to third countries as well.
source: thehimalayantimes.com
